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News Release Information

17-81-SAN
Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area — December 2016

Area prices were unchanged over the past month, up 2.0 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that during December lower prices for gasoline helped counter higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices inched up 0.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the month of December. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 0.8 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.2 percent percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 1.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.6 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.4 percent). Prices for electricity were virtually unchanged, while prices for natural gas service advanced 2.8 percent in the same period.

Energy prices inched up 0.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (5.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 9.1 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 4.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.1 percent in December. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (0.8 percent) and medical care (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-2.3 percent) and recreation (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.0 percent) and shelter (4.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in education and communication (-3.4 percent) and apparel (-2.5 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201120122013201420152016
MonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnual

January

0.91.80.82.10.82.00.50.8-0.3-0.10.73.1

February

0.52.30.52.10.72.20.50.50.70.10.02.4

March

1.13.01.02.00.11.30.61.01.00.50.31.7

April

0.53.30.01.5-0.40.90.01.4-0.10.50.22.0

May

0.03.10.11.60.11.00.41.71.01.10.51.4

June

-0.42.9-0.41.6-0.11.40.11.8-0.30.80.11.8

July

-0.42.4-0.11.9-0.11.30.12.00.71.40.01.1

August

0.22.40.62.30.10.8-0.11.8-0.31.10.01.4

September

0.53.10.42.20.20.60.01.7-0.40.70.21.9

October

0.02.80.83.00.1-0.1-0.11.40.21.00.42.2

November

-0.13.0-1.02.1-0.50.4-0.71.30.01.6-0.41.8

December

-0.52.2-0.71.90.01.1-0.50.7-0.12.00.02.0

The January 2017 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on Wednesday February 15, 2017.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Indexes
 
Percent change from-
Oct.
2016
Nov.
2016
Dec.
2016
Dec.
2015
Oct.
2016
Nov.
2016

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

251.098250.185250.1892.0-0.40.0

All items (1967=100)

741.855739.156739.171---

Food and beverages

251.982250.967251.8930.90.00.4

Food

251.921250.881251.8640.80.00.4

Food at home

254.659252.772253.486-1.0-0.50.3

Food away from home

244.766244.783246.0833.20.50.5

Alcoholic beverages

237.906237.315237.3631.6-0.20.0

Housing

281.615281.400282.4164.40.30.4

Shelter

320.795321.725322.6954.80.60.3

Rent of primary residence(1)

337.209338.473339.4265.00.70.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)

332.914334.484335.7334.90.80.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

332.895334.464335.7134.90.80.4

Fuels and utilities

312.131305.275306.8125.5-1.70.5

Household energy

280.018271.088273.0876.7-2.50.7

Energy services(1)

279.015269.989271.6256.6-2.60.6

Electricity(1)

313.726313.478313.2515.8-0.2-0.1

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

247.433217.163223.2619.1-9.82.8

Household furnishings and operations

116.212114.632115.5310.0-0.60.8

Apparel

111.876106.406103.972-2.5-7.1-2.3

Transportation

190.597190.463188.577-1.6-1.1-1.0

Private transportation

186.098185.474184.208-1.2-1.0-0.7

Motor fuel

215.917215.875208.577-4.5-3.4-3.4

Gasoline (all types)

211.196211.089203.866-4.6-3.5-3.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

211.267211.202203.835-4.8-3.5-3.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

203.617203.589197.041-3.7-3.2-3.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

203.277202.928196.659-3.7-3.3-3.1

Medical care

466.477463.349465.1715.0-0.30.4

Recreation(5)

106.914105.287104.464-2.0-2.3-0.8

Education and communication(5)

141.982142.028141.694-3.4-0.2-0.2

Other goods and services

391.495393.168393.0120.80.40.0
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All items

251.098250.185250.1892.0-0.40.0

Commodities

173.944172.272171.787-0.8-1.2-0.3

Commodities less food & beverages

133.296131.442130.408-2.1-2.2-0.8

Nondurables less food & beverages

173.785171.327168.690-1.7-2.9-1.5

Durables

93.61292.35092.900-2.7-0.80.6

Services

319.761319.531319.9753.40.10.1
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

241.788240.963240.8991.8-0.40.0

All items less shelter

220.640218.881218.4450.1-1.0-0.2

Commodities less food

137.709135.865134.846-1.9-2.1-0.8

Nondurables

213.657211.809210.754-0.3-1.4-0.5

Nondurables less food

179.623177.226174.689-1.5-2.7-1.4

Services less rent of shelter(2)

327.305325.359325.0361.3-0.7-0.1

Services less medical care services

307.281307.194307.5263.20.10.1

Energy

241.322237.868234.1120.2-3.0-1.6

All items less energy

253.742253.013253.3022.1-0.20.1

All items less food and energy

254.388253.711253.8822.3-0.20.1

Footnotes
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2017